System for accessing/delivering on-line/information services via individualized environments using streamlined application sharing host and client services

ABSTRACT

An on-line/information service system is constituted with a caller management server and a number of on-line/information servers. The caller management server is equipped with multiple ports and complementary hardware/software, including a call management application, for managing multiple concurrent calls, which includes optionally validating the calls depending on whether services are provided on a callee service provider or caller basis, assigning and connecting the calls to corresponding on-line/information service delivery environments on the on-line/information servers. The on-line/information servers are equipped with adequate hardware/software, including an on-line/information service manager application and a number of on-line/information service applications, to support multiple on-line/information service delivery environments. Each on-line/information service delivery environment is equipped with streamlined application sharing host services, thereby allowing end-user PC equipped with streamlined application sharing client services to access on-line/information services provided by the on-line/information service applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the fields of computer systems andon-line/information services.

2. Background Information

Advances in computer technology continue to bring forth more powerful,and yet at the same time more affordable personal computer systems (PC),leading to increasing number of PCs being acquired by end users for homeapplications. At the same time, advances in telecommunication technologyare allowing these PCs to be networked with other computers. As aresult, one particular type of home applications that is of increasinginterest is on-line/information services. Particular examples ofon-line/information services include news, bulletin, home shopping, homebanking etc.

Today, most on-line/information services are delivered through"intermediate" service providers. In other words, a third "intermediate"party other than the "real" service provider is always involved. The"real" service provider is a bank providing home banking services, adepartment store providing home shopping services etc., and what thethird "intermediate" party provides is access service for the home user,and delivery service for the "real" service provider. Particularexamples of these "intermediate" on-line/information service providersinclude America On-line, Prodigy etc.

These access/delivery approaches all have the common inherentdisadvantage of requiring the services to be accessed/delivered throughan intermediary. Furthermore, these access/delivery approaches also havethe common disadvantage of requiring installation of an "intermediate"provider's proprietary software before access/delivery of the servicecan be performed. Thus, it is desirable if access/delivery ofon-line/information services can be made without the employment ofintermediary service providers.

The advent of Internet and World-Wide-Web (WWW) provides a partialalternative approach to the employment of intermediary serviceproviders. Under the Internet and WWW approach, a home user can requestinformation or service from a service providing server maintained by the"real" service provider directly, without going through an intermediaryaccess/delivery service provider. However, the Internet and WWW approachstill has the inherent disadvantage that certain intermediary softwareimplementing the Internet protocol must be employed on the server andthe home user PC. While commercial versions of Internet protocolimplementing software such as MOSAIC or Netscape are readily availablein the market place, nevertheless, it still means the "real" serviceprovider has to provide the Internet protocol implementing software onhis/her servers, and the home users must separately purchase and installthe Internet protocol implementing software on his/her PC before theon-line/information services can be accessed/delivered.

In particular, when compared to the employment of a telephone foraccessing/delivering information services, granted the functionality isnot as rich, the usability from the user's perspective is still to bedesirable. In the telephone case, there are no additional hardware norsoftware required of the user before he/she can use his/her telephone toaccess information services. Particular examples of using the telephoneto access/deliver information services include stock quotations, bankaccount balance inquiries, fund transfers or payments etc.

As will be disclosed in more detail below, the present inventionprovides a more friendly, more efficient, and more cost effectiveapproach to accessing/delivering "limited" information services or "fullfunction" on-line services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The desired results are advantageously achieved by constituting anon-line/information service system with a caller management server and anumber of on-line/information servers. The caller management server isequipped with multiple ports and complementary hardware/software,including a call management application, for managing multipleconcurrent calls, which includes optionally validating calls dependingon whether services are to be provided on a callee service provider orcaller basis, assigning and connecting the calls to correspondingon-line/information service delivery environments on theon-line/information servers. The on-line/information servers areequipped with adequate hardware/software, including anon-line/information service manager application and a number ofon-line/information service applications, to support multipleon-line/information service delivery environments.

In one embodiment, the caller management server is a multi-processorserver executing a network operating system that is compatible with theoperating systems employed by the end-user PCs and the operating systemsemployed for the individual on-line/information delivery environments.In one embodiment, each of the on-line/information server is a massivelyparallel multi-processor computer system having N application supportingprocessors for executing N corresponding copies of like operatingsystems employed by the end-user PCs, with the exception that theoperating system executing on each of the processor of theon-line/information server is incorporated with the streamlinedapplication sharing (AS') host services of the present invention,whereas the operating system executing on each end-user PC isincorporated with the AS' client services of the present invention.

To access on-line/information service, an end-user PC would initiate acall to the on-line/information service system. The call managementserver would assign and connect the call to one of theon-line/information delivery environment. In some embodiments, the callmanagement server would validate the call before assigning andconnecting the call. The call management application also provides theparticular executing copy of the on-line/information service managerwith an application profile delineating on-line/information service ofinterest and/or authorized. In some embodiments, the application profileis provided based on the callee's telephone number/ID, whereas in otherembodiments, the application profile is provided based on the caller'stelephone number/ID.

In response, the on-line/information service manager would pseudodisplay a navigation/selection "home" menu, which would be automaticallyapplication shared onto the caller PC's display. The caller would makehis navigation or selection choices interacting with the locallydisplayed shared menu. The interaction keystrokes and cursor controlactions are forwarded to the on-line/information service manager. Inresponse, the on-line/information service manager would either pseudodisplay another navigation/selection menu or launch an appropriateon-line/information service application. The launchedon-line/information service application would execute and pseudo displayservice information, which would also be automatically applicationshared onto the caller PC's display. Similarly, the caller would utilizethe locally displayed shared on-line/information services, interactingwith the displayed information. Again, the interaction keystrokes andcursor control actions would be forwarded to the on-line/informationservice applications, which would process them accordingly.

When the caller is finished with an on-line/information serviceapplication, control is returned to the on-line/information servicemanager. Eventually, when the caller is finished with all the desiredservices, control is returned to the caller management application,which in turn would terminate the call. In some embodiments, theon-line/information service applications and/or call managementapplication also log various relevant billing information during thecall, and upon termination save these logged information for subsequentbilling purpose.

In one embodiment, the on-line/information service system furtherincludes a local private exchange (PBX). The PBX is equipped withmultiple line adapters and complementary hardware/software for switchingmultiple concurrent calls, routing them to the caller management server.In another embodiment, the switching service is provided by publicexchanges. The PBX may be implemented using any number of PBX's known inthe art, provided the line switching capability is commensurate with theanticipated concurrent call load to be supported. During operation, thePBX is used to answer and connect calls to the call management server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments,but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichlike references denote similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary on-line/information service deliverynetwork incorporating the on-line/information service system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an overview of the method steps of the present invention foraccessing/delivering on-line/information services;

FIGS. 3a-3c are hardware, software, and end user views of an exemplaryon-line/information service client PC;

FIGS. 4a-4b are hardware and software views of an exemplary callermanagement server;

FIGS. 5a-5b are hardware and software views of an exemplaryon-line/information server;

FIGS. 6a-6b illustrate some of the essential data maintained by thecaller management server;

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of the operation flow of the callermanagement application executing on the caller management server;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of the operation flow of theon-line/information service manager executing in one of theon-line/information service delivery environments of anon-line/information server;

FIG. 9 is an architectural view of the present invention foraccessing/delivering on-line/information services using AS' services;

FIGS.10a-10b illustrate one embodiment of the operation flow of the AS'host services under the present invention;

FIGS. 11a-11d illustrate one embodiment of the operation flow of the AS'client services under the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specificnumbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without the specific details. In other instances, well knownfeatures are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary on-line/information servicedelivery network incorporated with the teachings of the presentinvention is illustrated. The exemplary network compriseson-line/information service system 10 constituted in accordance to theteachings of the present invention for providing on-line/informationservices, and end-user PCs 14 accessing these services provided byon-line/information service system 10 through Public Switching TelephoneNetwork (PSTN). On-line/information service system 10 includes a callermanagement server 20 and a number of on-line/information servers 22. Forthe illustrated embodiment, on line/information service system 10further includes a local private exchange (PBX) 16. The various servers20 and 22 are coupled to each other through a local area network (LAN)18. PBX 16, when present, is directly coupled to the various servers 20and 22. Caller management server 20 is equipped with multiple ports andcomplementary hardware/software, including a call managementapplication, for managing multiple concurrent calls, which includesvalidating the calls, assigning and connecting the calls tocorresponding on-line/information service delivery environments onon-line/information servers 22. On-line/information servers 22 areequipped with adequate hardware/software, including anon-line/information service manager application and a number ofon-line/information service applications, to support multipleon-line/information service delivery environments. In particular,on-line information servers 22 are equipped with AS' host services ofthe present invention for automatically application sharing displays ofthe on-line/information service applications with PC 14. PBX 16, ifemployed, is equipped with multiple line adapters and complementaryhardware/software for switching multiple concurrent calls, routing themto caller management server 20. PBX 16 and LAN 18 perform theirconventional functions. Both are well known in the art, and will not befurther described. Servers 20 and 22 will be described in more detailwith additional references to the remaining figures.

PSTN 12 is also well known and will not be further described either.However, it should be noted that the present invention may be practicedwith other types of network including but not limited to ISDN or LAN.Each of PCs 14 is equipped with the AS' client services of the presentinvention. Except for the AS' client services, PCs 14 are intended torepresent a broad category of personal computers known in the art, whosefunctions and constitutions are well known, and therefore will not befurther described. Additionally, as will described in more detail below,the present invention may also be practiced with on-line informationservice system 10 delivering services in conjunction with other"external" on-line/information servers 24.

FIG. 2 illustrates the overall method steps of the present invention foraccessing/delivering on-line/information services. As shown, duringoperation, to access on-line/information service, an end-user PC 14would initiate a call to the on-line/information service system 10, step32. The call would be switched to and answered by call management server20, step 34. In some embodiments, in particular, those systems providingservices on a caller basis, to be described more fully below, callmanagement server 20 would validate the call, step 36. If the call isnot validated, step 38, the call would be rejected, step 39, otherwise,call management server 20 would assign and connect the call to one ofthe on-line/information server 20, step 40. The assignedon-line/information server 22 would then service the call using theincorporated AS' host and client services on server 22 and PC 14respectively, step 42. After PC 14 has obtained all desired services,step 44, the call would be terminated, step 45.

Having described on-line/information service system 10 of the presentinvention and the manner in which it interacts with end-user PCs 14 at ahigh level, we will now proceed to describe the various components infurther detail. Referring now to FIGS. 3a-3c, wherein hardware,software, and end-user views of one embodiment of PC 14 of FIG. 1 areshown. As illustrated in FIG. 3a, for this embodiment, PC 14 includesprocessor 100, cache memory 102, main memory 104, memory controller 106,and processor bus 108 coupled to each other. Additionally, PC 14 furtherincludes input/output (I/O) controller 110, mass storage 112, keyboardand cursor control devices 114, audio and video devices 116, remotecommunication interfaces 118, and I/O bus 120 coupled to each other.Furthermore, memory controller 106 and I/O controller 110 are coupled toeach other. Each of elements 100-120 performs its conventional functionknown in the art. Their constitutions are well known and will not befurther described.

As shown in FIG. 3b, under this embodiment, PC 14 is equipped withoperating system 122, device drivers 124, communication services 126 andAS' client services 128 of the present invention. Additionally, PC 14may also be equipped with local applications 130, i.e. applicationsother than the "service applications" provided remotely byon-line/information servers 22. Except for AS' client services 128,elements 122-130 also perform their conventional functions known in theart. Their constitutions are also well known and will not be furtherdescribed. AS' client services 128 will be described in more detailbelow.

As shown in FIG. 3c, for this embodiment, PC 14 also includes a windowedgraphical end user interface 116a comprising windowed displays of sharedon-line/information service application 132 as well as windowed displaysof local applications 122a-122b. As will be described in more detailbelow, displays of the on-line/information service applications areautomatically application shared onto PC 14 while they are beingpseudo-rendered on the on-line/information server 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 4a-4b, wherein hardware and software views of oneembodiment of caller management server 20 are shown. As illustrated inFIG. 4a, caller management server 20 is similarly constituted as PC 14,except it comprises multiple higher performance processors 200,communication interfaces 216 capable of handling multiple concurrentcalls routed from PBX 16, and a LAN communication interface 218 forcommunicating with on-line/information servers 22. As illustrated inFIG. 4b, for this embodiment, caller management server 20 is alsosimilarly equipped wit_(h) operating system 222, device drivers 224, andcommunication services 226. However, it is not equipped with any AS'client services. Instead, it is equipped with a caller managementapplication 228, which will be described in more detail below.

Referring now to FIGS. 5a-5b, hardware and software views of oneembodiment of on-line/information server 22 of FIG. 1 are shown. Asillustrated in FIG. 5a, for this embodiment, on-line/information server22 includes a number of massively parallel processors 300, 302a and302b. Some of the processors 300 are dedicated to provideon-line/information service environments, one on-line/informationservice environment per processor 300. Other processors 302a-302b arededicated to access I/O or network devices 304 or mass storage's 306.The illustrated on-line/information server 22 is intended to represent abroad category of high performance servers known in the art. Theirconstitutions are also known and will not be further described. Asillustrated in FIG. 5b, under this embodiment, each on-line/informationservice environment is similar equipped as each PC 14 includingoperating system 308, device drivers 310, and communication services312. Additionally, each on-line/information service environment is alsoequipped with AS' host services 314, a copy of information servicemanager 316 and copies of a number of on-line/information serviceapplications 318. AS' host service 314 is used to automaticallyapplication share displays of on-line/information service manager andapplications 316 and 318 onto PC 14. On-line/information service manager310 is used to control navigation among the interested or authorizedon-line/information services, whereas on-line/information serviceapplications 318 are used to provide on-line/information services.

Before proceeding to describe PC 14, caller management server 20, andon-line/information server 22 in further detail, it should be noted thatthose skilled in the art would appreciate that numerous embodimentsfunctionally equivalent to those described earlier are available, andthe present invention may be practiced with any number of theseequivalent embodiments. In particular, on-line/information server 22 maysimply be a multi-processor server equipped with an operating systemthat is capable of providing "individualized" on-line/informationservice environments, one for each calling PC 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 6a-6b, wherein the essential data maintained bycaller management server 20 are shown. As illustrated by the embodimentshown in FIG. 6a, caller management server 20 maintains a table 232 ofcallee and/or caller IDs 234, depending on the basis for providingservices, and their corresponding application profiles 236.Callee/Caller IDs 234 identify the callee service provider/calling PCs14. Application profiles 236 describe the on-line/information serviceinterested or authorized for the identified callee serviceprovider/calling PC 14. As illustrated by the embodiment shown in FIG.6b, caller management server 20 further maintains another table 238 ofon-line/information server processor IDs 240, their usage status 242 andLAN address 244. On-line/information server process IDs 234 identify theservice processors 300 of servers 22. Usage status 242 denote whetherthe corresponding processors 300 are in use, and LAN addresses 244denote the address of the processors 300.

Referring now to FIG. 7, wherein one embodiment of the operation flow ofcaller management application 228 is illustrated. As shown, for thoseembodiments where services are provided on a caller basis, callermanagement application 228 first looks up the calling PC's caller ID 234in caller ID table 232, step 246. If no match is found, step 248, callmanagement application 228 rejects the call, step 262. If a match isfound, or unconditionally for those embodiments where services areprovided on the callee basis, the corresponding application profile isretrieved, step 248. Caller management application 228 then looks for anidle on-line/information service environment, i.e. an idled processor300 for the above described embodiment, step 250. If no idleon-line/information service environment is found, step 252, callermanagement application 228 also rejects the call, step 262. If an idleon-line/information service environment is found, step 252, callermanagement application 228 assigns and connects the call to the locatedon-line/information service environment, steps 254-256. Next, callermanagement application 228 routes call signals to the assignedon-line/information service environment, step 258. Caller managementapplication 228 continues the routing until the call is completed, step260.

Referring now to FIG. 8, wherein one embodiment of the operation flow ofon-line/information service manager 316 is shown. As illustrated, duringoperation, on-line/information service manager 316 monitors forapplication profile messages transmitted by caller managementapplication 228, step 324. Upon receipt of an application profile,on-line/information service manager 316 pseudo renders anavigation/selection menu, step 326. As described earlier, thenavigation/selection menu being pseudo rendered is automaticallyapplication shared onto the calling PC 14. Pseudo rendering andautomatic application sharing of displays will be described in moredetail below. Upon pseudo rendering the navigation/selection menu,on-line/information service manager 316 monitors fornavigation/selection inputs from the calling PC 14, step 328. The mannerin which navigation/selection inputs made on calling PC 14 are providedto on-line/information service manager 316 will be described in moredetail below.

Upon detecting a navigation/selection input, on-line/information servicemanner 316 determines if user PC 14 has selected to quit theon-line/information services, step 330. If user PC 14 has selected toquit, on-line/information service manager 316 returns to monitoring foradditional customer profile messages, step 324. On the other hand, ifuser PC 14 has not selected to quit, on-line/information service manager316 further determines if a service selection has been made, step 332.If a service selection has not been made, on-line/information servicemanager 316 pseudo renders a "new" navigation/selection menu responsiveto the navigation/selection input received, step 324. As describedearlier, the "new" navigation/selection menu will be automaticallyapplication shared onto user PC 14. Upon pseudo rendering the "new"navigation/selection menu, on-line/information service manager 316returns to monitoring for navigation/selection inputs from user PC 14,step 328.

Back at step 332, if a service selection was made, on-line/informationservice manager launches the appropriate service application 318, step336. In some embodiments, step 336 may include remotely launchingservice applications on an "external" on-line/information server 24.Upon launching a service application 318, on-line/information servicemanager 316 waits for the return from the launched application 318. Uponreturning from the launched service application 318, on-line/informationservice manager 316 repeats steps 334 and 328 again.

Referring now to FIG. 9, wherein an architectural view AS' of thepresent invention is shown. As illustrated, on-line/information servicemanager/applications 316 or 316 calls the kernel 320 of the operatingsystem to render certain display. As will be obvious from thedescriptions to follow, under the present invention, theon-line/information service manager/applications 316 and 318 may beadvantageously implemented in a manner that it is not cognizant of thefact that the interacting end-user is remotely located.Manager/applications 316 and 318 are implemented as if the interactingend-user is local. Kernel 320 in turn calls a graphical displayinterface (GDI) 322 to render the display, which in turn calls a pseudodisplay driver 324 to "render" the display. Pseudo display driver 324 donot actually render the display on any display at all. Pseudo displaydriver 324 is employed to facilitate substitution with "real" displaydriver, to allow live interaction between the end user of PC 14 and aservice representative connected to the on-line/information server 22.

AS' host services 314 monitor and intercept all calls from GDI 322 topseudo display driver 324. Pseudo display driver 324 includes an inputbuffer allowing its calls to be "intercepted". AS' client services 128are notified by AS' host services 314 whenever a display device drivercall from GDI 322 is intercepted. Upon being notified, AS' clientservices 128 would then cause the display to be rendered directly bycalling the local GDI 134, or indirectly by calling the local displaydriver 136 first.

For keyboard and cursor control interactions on end-user PC 14 that arerelated to the "projected" or "shared" display, upon being notified bycursor driver 138, kernel 140 of the local operating system would notifyAS' client services 128. AS' client services 128 would in turn notifyAS' host services 134. AS' host services 314 would then notify kernel320, which in turn would notify the owner of the "projected" or "shared"display, i.e. on-line/information service manager/applications 316 or318. Kernel 140 includes keyboard and cursor control action inputqueues.

FIGS. 10a-10b illustrate one embodiment of the operation flow of AS'host services 314. As shown, during operation, AS' host services 314monitor for GDI calls or user PC inputs, steps 338 and 340. Upondetection of a GDI call, AS' host services 314 retrieve all drawinginformation from pseudo device driver's input buffer, step 342. Asdescribed earlier, preferably AS' host services 314 would call pseudodevice driver 324 again. Next, AS' host services 314 determine if thecurrent task is a shared task, step 346. If the current task is not ashared task, AS' host services 314 take no further action, and return tomonitoring for additional GDI calls or user PC inputs. However, if thecurrent task is a shared task, AS' host services 314 build a data packetin accordance to the retrieved drawing information, step 348, and thensend the data packet to user PC's AS' client services 128, step 350.

Upon sending the data packet, AS' host services 314 further determine ifthe display is the "draw down" or "pop up" of a menu, step 352. If thedisplay is related to the "draw down" or "pop up" of a menu, AS' hostservices 314 further cause a command packet to be sent to user PC's AS'client services 128 to "capture" the cursor control device, step 354.Capturing of a cursor control device means from here on forward, untilreleased, all cursor button actions, regardless of whether they arewithin the windowed display "owned" by AS' client services 138 or not,they are to be considered as if they took place within the windoweddisplay "owned".

If the display is not related to the "draw down" or "pop up" of a menu,AS' host services 314 further determine if the display is related to the"release" of a previously "drawn down" or "popped up" menu, step 356. Ifnot, AS' host services 314 take no further action, and return tomonitoring for new GDI calls or user PC inputs. If the display isrelated to the "releasing" of a menu, AS' host services 314 build acommand packet, instructing user PC's AS' client services 138 to releasethe previously captured cursor control device, step 358, and send thecommand packet to user PC's AS' client services 138, step 360.

If back in steps 338 and 340, it was user PC's input that was detected,as shown in FIG. 10b, AS' host services 314 would further determinewhether the input is a keyboard input or a cursor control input, step362, and route them to the appropriate input queue of kernel 320, steps364 and 366.

FIGS. 11a-11d illustrate one embodiment of the operation flow of AS'client services 138. As shown in FIG. 11a, in response to the receipt ofa data packet, AS' client services 138 reconstruct the display call,step 142. Next, AS' client services 138 determine if the reconstructeddisplay call is a GDI direct or indirect call, step 144. If it isdetermined to be a direct call, AS' client services 138 call GDIdirectly, step 146. Otherwise, AS' client services 138 first calldisplay driver 136 to render the display into a bitmap, step 148, beforecalling GDI to copy the rendered bitmap onto the display device, step150.

As shown in FIG. 11b, in response to the receipt of a command packet,AS' client services 138 determine if the command is to capture or torelease the cursor control device, step 154. Upon making thedetermination, AS' client services 138 then perform the commandaccordingly, step 156 or 158. As will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art, capturing and releasing of a cursor control device is performedin an operating system dependent operation.

As shown in FIG. 11c, in response to keyboard inputs that are relevantto the "projected" or "shared" windowed display of theon-line/information service manager/applications 316 or 318, AS' clientservices 138 forward the keystrokes to on-line/information servicesmanager/applications 316 or 318, step 162.

As shown in FIG. 11d, in response to a cursor control input, AS' clientservices 138 first determine if the cursor control input is a buttondown input, step 166. If the input is determined to be a button downinput, AS' client services 138 capture the cursor control device, step168. If the input is determined not to be a button down input, AS'client services 138 further determine if the input is a button up input,step 170. If the input is determined to a button up input, AS' clientservices 138 release the cursor control device, step 168, otherwise AS'client services 138 add the input action to the local ignore list andnotify on-line/information manager/applications 316 or 318.

The above described streamlined application sharing services is astreamlined version of application sharing services disclosed incopending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/261,740, filed on Jun.17, 1994, entitled Apparatus And Method For Application Sharing In AGraphical User Interface, which is now abandoned in favor ofFile-Wrapper Continuation Application, filed on Apr. 12, 1996, sametitle. The reason streamlined services may be employed is because of theabsence of the "competing" cursor on the on-line/information server 22.For a more detailed description of full application sharing services,see the above identified co-pending U.S. patent application. As will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, application sharing services,in particular, the streamlined version, require relatively small amountof code to implement. Couple that with the generic nature of theirfunctions, it is expected that application sharing services or theirequivalent will be an integral part of future operating systems. At suchtime, the friendliness, efficiency and cost effectiveness of the presentinvention would come extremely close to the employment of the telephonefor delivering information services.

Thus, a method and apparatus for accessing/deliveringon-line/information services has been described. While the method andapparatus of the present invention has been described in terms of theabove illustrated embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognizethat the invention is not limited to the embodiments described. Thepresent invention can be practiced with modification and alterationwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The description isthus to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An on-line/information service systemcomprising:(a) at least one on-line/information server providing aplurality of individualized on-line/information service deliveryenvironments for serving up to a corresponding plurality of remotecomputer callers, one service delivery environment per computer caller,each of the plurality of individualized on-line/information servicedelivery environments having a plurality of selectively executableon-line/information service applications and application sharing hostservices for sharing executing ones of the on-line/information serviceapplications with corresponding remote computers;wherein the remotecomputers are equipped with complimentary application sharing clientservices; wherein each of the plurality of individualizedon-line/information service delivery environments are created byreplicating an operating system and the application to accommodate saidplurality of remote computer callers; wherein said replicated operatingsystem and application are executed on said at least oneon-line/information server location; and (b) a caller management serverfor managing multiple concurrent calls from the remote computer callers,assigning and connecting the calls to corresponding ones of theindividualized on-line/information service delivery environments forprovision of on-line/information services by selected ones of theon-line/information service applications.
 2. The system as claimed inclaim 1, whereinon-line/information services are provided on a calleeservice provider basis; and the caller management server comprises aplurality of application profiles for a plurality of callee serviceproviders, which are selectively provided to the service deliveryenvironments, when assigning and connecting remote computer callers tothe service delivery environments, responsive to the calls of the remotecomputer callers.
 3. The system as claimed in claim 1,whereinon-line/information services are provided on a caller basis; andthe caller management server comprises a plurality of applicationprofiles for the remote computer callers, which are selectively providedto the service delivery environments, when assigning and connecting theremote computer callers to the service delivery environments, responsiveto the calls of the remote computer callers.
 4. The system as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the at least one on-line/information server comprisesat least one massively parallel multi-processor computer system having Napplication supporting processors for executing N corresponding copiesof like operating systems employed by the remote computers.
 5. Thesystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the caller management servercomprises a multi-processor server executing a network operating systemcompatible with operating systems of the remote computers.
 6. The systemas claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further includes a localprivate telephone exchange for switching multiple concurrent calls fromthe remote computer callers, and routing the calls to the callmanagement server.
 7. In an on-line/information service system, a methodfor delivering on-line/information services to a plurality of remotecomputer callers, the method comprising the steps of:(a) assigning andconnecting each of the remote computer callers to an individualizedon-line/information service delivery environment, wherein eachindividualized on-line/information service delivery environment includesits own copy of operating system and applications executing on theon-line/information service system; (b) providing an application profilefor each of the remote computer callers to the correspondingassigned/connected on-line/information service delivery environments;(c) application sharing service selection menus with each of the remotecomputers by the corresponding individualized on-line/informationservice delivery environments, responsive to the application profileprovided, each of the on-line/information service delivery environmentsand the remote computers being equipped with complimentary applicationsharing host and client services respectively, wherein the applicationsare executed in the individualized on-line/information service deliveryenvironments only; (d) receiving input from the computer callersinteracting with the corresponding service selection menus to selecton-line/information services; and (e) application sharingon-line/information service applications with each of the remotecomputers by the corresponding individualized on-line/informationservice delivery environments, in response to the remote computercallers' interaction with the corresponding service selection menus. 8.The method as set forth in claim 7, wherein the application profile isprovided in step (c) on a callee service provider basis.
 9. The methodas set forth in claim 7, wherein the application profile is provided instep (c) on a caller basis.
 10. The method as set forth in claim 9,wherein step (a) further comprises validating the remote computercaller's eligibility for service.
 11. The method as set forth in claim7, wherein step (d) further comprises routing the remote computercaller's call to another on-line/information service system.
 12. Anon-line/information server comprising a plurality of parallel processorsincluding N application support processors for providing Nindividualized on-line/information service delivery environments forservicing N remote computer callers, each of the N individualizedon-line/information service delivery environments having a plurality ofselectively executable on-line/information service applications, andapplication sharing host services for remotely sharing executing ones ofthe plurality of on-line/information service applications withcorresponding remote computer callers equipped with complementaryapplication sharing client services wherein the remote computers areequipped with complimentary application sharing client services;whereineach of the plurality of individualized on-line/information servicedelivery environments are created by replicating the operating systemand application to accommodate said plurality of remote computercallers; and wherein said replicated operating system and applicationare executed on said server location.